An open water swim can be daunting but also exhilarating, fulfilling, and fun. To be a successful open water swimmer you must have a nutrition plan. Your nutrition plan should include fuel and hydration supplementation for both your training sessions and for your open water event.

Abbey Erwin edged out her father, Jeff Erwin, to win the 2-Mile Cable Open Water title in Oregon

Gulliver Swim Club’s Ricardo Valdivia was the fastest male in the ultramarathon distance, which was 9.2 miles, with a time of 2:05:30, slightly more than 2 minutes faster than Frimerman-Bergquist’s mark of 2:07:45. Southwest Indiana Masters swimmer Adam Dawkins won the men’s middle distance race, which was 2.4 miles, with a time of 30:57, while Nashville Aquatic Club Masters swimmer Ashley Whitney finished first among the women with a 31:38.

Dealing with changing conditions is one of the unique challenges in open water swimming. Depending upon geographical location, seasonal changes can drastically impact the water temperature. The dangers of swimming in excessively warm water are well known, but what about swimming in cold water?

Triathlon is a fast-growing sport with a lot of appeal. Part of what makes it so compelling is the combination of three different disciplines into a single event. And it’s a great sport for swimmers to pick up—athletes coming from a swimming background already have strong skills in the area that many triathletes find the most difficult. Why not take advantage of that?

What’s a weekend worth in the quest to make sure every adult in the United States is water-safe? That’s the question two teams recently asked themselves in setting out to swim for change. And their goals are audacious in both distance and the financial commitment they’ve made to support U.S. Masters Swimming’s charitable arm, the Swimming Saves Lives Foundation.